CHANDLER

Man indicted in 2013 crash on 202 freeway that killed passenger

Corina Vanek
The Republic | azcentral.com
Joaquin Daniel Ballesteros-Carpio

A man was indicted on four felony charges last week associated with an October 2013 car crash that killed the passenger in his car and injured an Arizona Department of Public Safety worker, officials said.

Joaquin Daniel Ballesteros-Carpio, 36, was found with a meth pipe in his front pocket at the scene of the crash, court records show.

Authorities said Ballesteros-Carpio was driving on Loop 202 Santan freeway when he and suddenly swerved and hit a marked DPS service vehicle that was parked in the shoulder of the freeway near Gilbert Road, records show.

The worker was on duty at the time of the crash, but was not assisting a stranded motorist, DPS officials said.

Officials later said the employee was "alert and talking at the hospital."

Ballesteros-Carpio was driving on a suspended license at the time of the crash, records show.

The passenger in his car, Jose Rodriguez-Nunez, was pronounced dead at the scene, records show.

Ballesteros-Carpio needed to be extricated from his car, records show.

The doctor who evaluated Ballesteros-Carpio noted that his blood pressure and heart rate were elevated, and suspected that he had used stimulants, records show.

He was indicted on charges of manslaughter, aggravated assault, possession or use of dangerous drugs and possession of drug paraphernalia, records show.